The Price of Life
by Ted Sadler
Summary: Sequel to The Trader's Wife
1. Uncertain times

Title: The Price of Life  
  
Author: Ted Sadler  
  
Email: ted.sadler@ntlworld.com  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Everything has a price. The trader's code says so.  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Status: Work in progress  
  
Author's notes: Sequel to "The Trader's Wife". You really need to read that one first. (Click on my name and then the story)  
  
All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Are they asleep now?" asked Jack, as Sam flopped down beside him on the old couch they kept at the back of their freighter's control cabin. She leaned against him and gratefully accepted his arm round her shoulders. Huygens 4B was now nine hours behind them and another sixteen were left before arrival back on Mythor, the world they now regarded as 'home'.  
  
"Yes, finally." she sighed. "I don't need to tell you that we're never going to have another day like that again, not even if the Earth depends on it. Jacomb's going to miss his school friends this time. I don't think we can make too many more sudden changes like this."  
  
"Agreed." said Jack, resting his cheek softly against the top of her head. They sat for some moments like this, each concentrating on reducing their mutual stress and worry, thanks to their im'ri bonding. After eleven years together, the enhanced feelings they could sense in each other via their implanted neural nets were fully developed. Normally it made for a truly wonderful love-life, and a sense of contentment just being around each other. When Sam had given birth to their two boys Jacomb and Danil, ten and eight years ago respectively, her shared sensation with Jack at the time was a two-way flood of joy in the midst of pain, and he had wept with her while she rejoiced with him.  
  
As the years had gone by, friends noticed how Sam and Jack seemed to anticipate each other's needs and actions. More than one had asked if they were telepathic when they did things with very few words being passed between them. They weren't, of course, but that extra closeness was apparent to all but a few. They certainly made a devastating negotiating team when working together and their small but growing 'JS Trading' empire was treated with respect by many commercial dealers and buyers. Inevitably though, as was the case with many traders, less successful competitors or clients who felt they'd lost out somehow could always find ways to extract revenge, whether by informing authorities about less-than-legal items held in warehouses, or simply stealing their stock.  
  
But today's experience reminded them of the time during their first year together when their role as watchers abroad for the SGC had been leaked to a corrupt government, whose guards had beaten them severely on arrival through a Stargate. Sam recalled very clearly how Jack, even though he had been in greater pain, had forced himself to think and feel calm emotions next to her, easing her own suffering. The difference now was that their children came first in everything they planned and did. Their worries were not for each other as much as for their future.  
  
"We've lost that house forever, haven't we?" asked Sam ruefully.  
  
"Yeah." Jack grunted quietly, squeezing her more tightly for a moment.  
  
"Pity. I liked it a lot." she continued. "It's odd how they singled out ours straight away for a search instead of isolating all the traders' quarters like they normally do."  
  
"That's not the only thing." he replied. "You said you saw the cops arriving at the school as you left with the kids, right?"  
  
"Yes, I went straight there after your emergency signal. We only just made it to the Freight Hopper unchallenged. I didn't hang around to see how far behind us they were. I came straight for you at the rendezvous point and we left immediately."  
  
"Yeah, remind me not to let you launch to orbit while I'm still in the cargo bay next time."  
  
Sam laughed and looked up at the bruise across his forehead. "Going soft on me? Feeling your age?" She felt his silent response.  
  
"No, you're right, it is odd." he continued. "I think the rules have changed. I can't prove anything yet, but I reckon someone on Earth is behind this. The cops were very specific about the documents they said we had. No other traders knew about those." He sensed her agreement.  
  
"I can't think of anything we've said or done in public that would give us away." she added. "And we've played the game of staying low-profile by not growing the business too much or too fast. Even though we easily could!" she added with a sigh.  
  
Nobody had surprised her more than herself after she left the SGC to join Jack in his surveillance and spying role on foreign worlds. She loved the variety, loved being with him, loved her family, loved the challenges and discoveries. And then she revelled in actually using alien technologies in everyday life as well as adapting them for other, new uses. One day they would enjoy a good life making and selling some of the inventions she was storing up for their future. She hadn't told Jack yet that she had quietly registered a small but still dormant company called 'Doohickies Unlimited'. That was to be her present to him at the right time.  
  
"Sam, would it upset you if we turned this situation around and took control of our own lives?" asked Jack. She pulled her head away from his and looked at him questioningly. "We'll still help Earth or anyone who can contain the Goa'uld, but on our terms. But we've got to buy some insurance against our own people as well as the more obvious enemies."  
  
The smile in her eyes was all he needed to see.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	2. Cheap Labour

'This has to be the biggest screw-up for years.' thought Daniel Jackson, as he, a shackled Teal'c and a concussed Major Hailey were unceremoniously jolted around in the back of the dark covered waggon. He could hear the driver up front cursing the horses to pull harder up the rutted track and forced himself to think over recent events, as he held on to the Major to prevent her being knocked about in her unconscious state by the constant lurching.  
  
*kcabhsalf*  
  
The SGC had called in Professor Jackson from his post at the Cultural Research Domum on Crucis 3A to earn his consultant's retention fee. Daniel read the mysterious note that had been passed hurriedly to an SG team off- world by an anonymous hooded native, who fled the scene before they could stop him or her. 'Aid us, Tau'ri, we beg you.' it began. 'Our sacred icon will soon be delivered to the Goa'uld by devil traders who stole it from our temple on Avor. Without it, our followers will abandon their resistance and you will lose an ally. Send us an emissary with the knowledge of its value and we may yet save ourselves, and be in your debt.' It was signed 'Evenerari'.  
  
It had taken only a few days of gating back and forth between Earth and his workplace to verify that the Avorian sect had indeed been robbed of a most powerful symbol of their faith. If they lost cohesion and direction, their role in spreading the word amongst other timid races that the Tau'ri were a power for good would disappear.  
  
It had taken a further few days to locate Teal'c, whom he had found in semi- retirement in a remote part of Chulak. Daniel was a man no longer easily caught out by surprises, and the sight of the Jaffa peacefully fishing on a quiet lake took him unawares. He approached the water's edge quietly, but Teal'c had lost none of his keen senses.  
  
"It is indeed a pleasure to meet you again, DanielJackson." said Teal'c, without looking round. "Perhaps your arrival will also bring the fish."  
  
"Er, I thought that Jack had.." said Daniel uncertainly.  
  
"For a long while, my first experience with him was most certainly a deterrent." replied Teal'c. "However, in time I began to see that the philosophy of chasing dreams by following an impractical pastime has a certain merit. As he said, it is not the fish, it is *the fishing* that is important."  
  
"Ah, I see. I think." Daniel sat down alongside his friend and reaching behind his own head, slapped his neck as he felt the sting of an insect bite. After a few moments of silence, he continued. "We need to find them again, Teal'c. We need their help." His friend knew exactly who he was talking about. "Eleven years is a long time."  
  
The SGC had insisted that Daniel and Teal'c be accompanied by a military representative on their mission to recover the lost icon. So few of the original members were now left in the SG teams that Daniel was glad that he had been able to persuade them to let Major Hailey join the group. He remembered her as a freckle-faced Lieutenant, prodigious in her scientific abilities and willingness to give opinions, and was therefore a little surprised when an athletic, confident and instantly likeable officer presented herself in the briefing room.  
  
"I'm pleased to be serving with you again, Dr. Jackson." she said. "And with you, Teal'c. I hope that I can earn your confidence and trust."  
  
"Oh, I feel good about that already." came the reply. "And please call me Daniel." He couldn't resist the thought that their age difference was the same as another well-known couple. "May I call you Jennifer?"  
  
"I prefer Jen, please."  
  
Teal'c observed the exchange in knowing silence.  
  
That moment had proved to be the best of the mission for Daniel. Their violent capture and abduction by a group of heavily-armed men one day after arrival on P2T-756, where they knew there was a 'JS Trading' depot, was at the opposite end of his personal spectrum.  
  
*end of kcabhsalf*  
  
After another hour of discomfort, the bright evening sunlight came as a surprise when they were emptied out of the waggon. Hailey was now conscious again and they were quickly herded into a fenced area along with several coarsely-dressed strangers, both men and women. They had not long to wait before a familiar figure appeared before them on a raised dock and ordered silence.  
  
"For those of you who don't know it yet, you now belong to JS Trading." said Sam in a strong voice. "And when I say *belong*, that means that you have the right to a fair wage, food basics and shelter. You do *not* have freedom of movement. Under the laws of this world, you are technically known as 'debentured labour', and can only leave our employment when we say so. Any attempts to leave without that permission will be punishable in law. This is the only warning you will get!"  
  
"That's slavery!" shouted one man at the back. Daniel, already in shock at the sight of someone he would never have believed could behave like this, stood in open-mouthed amazement when Jack appeared alongside Sam and pointed out the man to a guard. The guard ran to the rear and unceremoniously dragged the man away.  
  
"You will be given work clothes, a meal and shown to your quarters." continued Sam, pointing in the direction of a heavily-built stockade a few hundred metres away. "We start work at dawn tomorrow. Now follow the supervisors."  
  
Daniel thought that Sam and Jack must have recognised the three of them in the crowd, but he had no idea what was in store. Above all, he could not take in the change in his friends' demeanour and actions since their time together at the SGC. He raised his arm and started to call out, but they had turned away from the assembled workers. He felt Teal'c's arm restraining his, and saw his curt shake of the head.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"What's that awful smell?" asked Daniel as the first glow of the dawn sky appeared. They were standing in a group by the corral, shivering slightly in the early morning frost and talking quietly. He wrinkled his nose.  
  
"Pigs." replied Jen Hailey. "My folks raised them. Know the smell anywhere."  
  
"I heard the foreman say that our task today is to heard them through the Stargate in batches of 500." added Teal'c.  
  
"Pigs? Through a Stargate? I thought they were supposed to be trading in technologies! And how many are there in total?" asked Daniel, starting to wish he hadn't eaten breakfast.  
  
"Nearly five thousand, I believe." replied Teal'c, smiling wryly at his friend's discomfort.  
  
"Come on, Daniel!" laughed Hailey. "Don't wimp out now! We've just got to play along until they recognise it's us here."  
  
It wasn't quite the longest day of Daniel's life, but it came close. The smell, the dust and the exhausting physical effort brought back his allergies and by the time evening came, he was more than willing for 'Jen' to spoon feed him soup as he lay sniffling and red-eyed on his bed, a headache thumping behind his temples. They had been so busy all day and had only caught sight of Sam and Jack on horseback a few times, herding livestock with the rest. They seemed to be working just as hard as their employees.  
  
Teal'c returned to their communal room in mid-evening and took in the scene before him. Daniel had fallen asleep exhausted, and the Jaffa noted with a smile that Hailey had curled up alongside him and joined him in slumber, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. He had intended to tell Daniel that a plea to the foreman for his re-assignment to a less dusty job would be considered, but he had to report for work with the rest next morning.  
  
Teal'c sat for a while in meditation. The O'Neill's were deliberately not acknowledging their friends and he knew that the reason would become clear in due course. But why they were doing these things, he had absolutely no idea.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	3. Hot Stuff

Chapter 3 - Hot Stuff  
  
"Here he comes now." said Sam, as a stranger's waggon drew up outside their office. "Ready?"  
  
"Yes, but I want to play the hard guy this time!" replied Jack, as he stood up from behind the big desk, donning his jacket. "You did it the last three times. Getting to like it too much!"  
  
"Gone soft again!" Sam smiled back at him. This was a game they had played regularly over the last few years. The truth was, most sellers were easy to deal with and manipulate, and many recognised the game for what it was. So their asking prices started out ridiculously high and ended up only slightly lower than they had hoped for - low enough to know that JS Trading was not to be messed with, but good enough to come back for more in future.  
  
"Is Ari ready with our *audience*?" asked Jack.  
  
Sam looked out of the open window again and raised a thumb to their waiting foreman, who unobtrusively nodded in response, turned and ushered half a dozen of their workers to sit on wooden benches outside an adjacent building to await their next work detail. Daniel, Teal'c and Jen Hailey were amongst them.  
  
The caller dismounted his waggon and one of the JS Trading employees approached to tend the horses. The tall, bearded man slapped the dust off his faded long coat, looking around carefully as he walked towards the office, where Jack and Sam greeted him with a handshake and brief words of welcome. The door closed behind them, but their drifting voices could still be heard outside. Two of the waiting workers continued a quiet conversation between themselves, but the four others could not help but listen inquisitively to the sounds from within.  
  
At first the conversation was hardly discernible, but soon raised voices were coming clearly from the building.  
  
"Don't try to tell me that those pieces will sell on an open market without the cops sniffing round!" they heard Sam proclaim. "You either lifted them yourself or you're pushing them for someone else who did!"  
  
"I didn't come here to be insulted!" replied the seller. "They're genuine goods of the realm, you can see from the receipt."  
  
"Crap! You could have gotten that paper ten minutes ago down the road at the printer's shop." continued Sam.  
  
""Sam! Let's just calm down a minute here!" came Jack's slightly quieter voice. "This inventory list is *interesting*, and Conal here doesn't strike me as a dishonest man."  
  
The conversation died back in volume, with only occasional words reaching the now attentive audience outside. It was Sam's voice that raised the tempo again. "And I say not a centar more, with all the trouble it'll take to move it on!" The stranger suddenly appeared in the doorway, but did not come out, as Jack ushered him back to the desk with some soothing words and gestures. The discussions continued for another five minutes before he reappeared outside with Jack, and they shook hands.  
  
"Good to do business with you, Conal." said Jack. "Er, sorry she gave you such a hard time." he continued in a lower voice.  
  
"Yeah, mine can be like that, too!" replied the visitor with a grin. "Maybe we should let the two of them deal next time while we take ale?"  
  
"Good idea!" smiled Jack conspiratorially, turning round and gesturing to Ari to organise the unloading of the goods in their nearby warehouse. The foreman nominated Teal'c and Daniel to follow the waggon as he got up alongside Conal, and they departed slowly.  
  
Jack watched their retreat and turned back into the office, to be greeted by a huge grin on Sam's face. He couldn't resist breaking into the same expression and they exchanged a 'high five'.  
  
"I still want to be the hard man next time." he said.  
  
"Only if you're quick enough, dearest, only if you're quick!"  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Jen Hailey took the large simmering pan from the stove and poured their soup as soon as she saw Teal'c and Daniel returning that evening. She allowed them only a few mouthfuls before asking the inevitable questions.  
  
"Most of the stuff was crated, but some was just wrapped in sacking. We took a look when we could and it seemed to be a collection of paintings and art works, like small statues and ornaments." explained Daniel.  
  
"Any inscriptions in languages you know?" asked Jen.  
  
"An interesting question." replied Teal'c. "There were indeed Goa'uld hieroglyphs on one object, but I did not observe sufficient of the surface to understand its origin."  
  
"We unloaded them into a locked area of the warehouse." Daniel continued. "It looked like there was a lot more of the same already on the shelves. Ari chained up the door again when we left."  
  
"Any markings on the crates to suggest possible destinations?" enquired Jen, her interest unabated.  
  
"A few." said Teal'c, finishing his soup a little noisily. "It would seem to be a regular trade across several planets."  
  
"Do you think it's all legitimate? I mean, that seller this afternoon didn't look a top-drawer dealer." she persisted.  
  
"No I don't, and that's what worries me." said Daniel. "I could believe that Jack might run close to the wind, but Sam never would. At least, the Sam we used to know wouldn't. I think. But she's changed since we saw her last, if this afternoon's meeting was anything to go by. In fact, they seem to work very close to each other, don't you think?"  
  
"Indeed they do." mused Teal'c, more to himself than his companions.  
  
Later, as he lay awake meditating, long after Jennifer Hailey had once again fallen asleep in Daniel's arms, he heard a faint noise by the door of their dormitory and looked up. Ari was beckoning to him, his hand just visible in the moonlight flooding in through the window. He rose silently and followed the foreman across the yard.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Daniel didn't know how much more of this he could take. Another three days of menial labour - whether herding livestock or handling dry goods - had seen his personal discomfort rise and fall on a daily basis. They hardly saw the owners of JS Trading except when clients were paying their dues or when either came to instruct Ari on new jobs. And when he asked to see them privately, he was treated by the head man as though he hardly existed.  
  
His attempts to get Teal'c during their evenings together to speculate on why they were being ignored was met with his constant refusal to do just that.  
  
"I trust O'Neill and Samantha." was the Jaffa's regular reply. "It is of no benefit to guess when all will be made clear to us."  
  
"No, I won't accept that we wait around for something to happen!" insisted Daniel. "Maybe they have changed in eleven years. Look how competitive the traders are. There's no love lost when a job is up for bidding, and they certainly seem as hard as nails in fending off rivals and making sure they get paid!"  
  
"I believe there will be a change soon, DanielJackson." said Teal'c. Jen glanced sharply at him, but his expression was as always, immutable.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	4. Betrayal

Chapter 4 - Betrayal  
  
Daniel, Teal'c and Jen Hailey sat on a small knoll with the foreman Ari, about 500 metres from the Stargate on Haven Minor. They had a clear view of Sam and Jack waiting by their waggon near the DHD. Earlier that day they had been taken to the warehouse and had loaded a good many packages and items from the secure area into the waggon. To their surprise, they had then been instructed to escort it through the Stargate to this world. The sudden transition from a cold, grey day to bright sunlight through the wormhole made for a pleasant change, so their one hour of waiting so far had been pleasant.  
  
Daniel had slowly become more and more irritated with their situation. He had convinced himself that the time to act instead of waiting for developments would soon be upon them. He used the opportunity to question Ari about most of the things on his mind.  
  
"May I ask, Ari, how long you have worked for JS Trading?" he enquired.  
  
Ari seemed to be in a relaxed mood and was much more forthcoming than on previous occasions. "For around four standard years now." he replied. "They are fair bosses."  
  
"They, er, seem rather strict to me." Daniel observed, deciding to push matters as far as he could. "It wasn't our choice to be forced to work for them. That man who objected on our first day was soon seen off."  
  
"Some traders would have had him flogged for insolence." said Ari. "The law on Gryphon allows employers to take labour from the ranks of those deemed to be destitute. JS Trading pays fair rates, and the food and lodgings are adequate. That's more than you can say for many. Some of our current labour force are there by choice."  
  
"But we weren't destitute!" exclaimed Jen. "We were abducted and taken there!"  
  
"Sometimes the law upholders interpret the rules according to their own interests." replied Ari. "You had the appearance of vagrants when you arrived at the company, and that's enough for employers. Gryphon law is, as I indicated, in their favour. Any complaints?" he added in a tone of voice that did not seem as though a positive answer was called for.  
  
"Does JS Trading operate on many worlds?" asked Daniel.  
  
"It does. There are fifteen worlds with JST warehouses and offices, but they visit many more. It is still a small concern as traders go, worth only a few billion librae. That's not enough to be called 'large' on any one world. But they take the types of trade that the larger companies and Commerce Guilds do not service. I enjoy it - they are good at their job and treat me well."  
  
"Do you travel with them to all these worlds?"  
  
"I do, when the work requires."  
  
"Where's your home world, Ari?" asked Daniel, feeling that he was getting somewhere.  
  
"Avor." said Ari with pride. "I was raised by the brethren and was taken for a husband there. My wife no longer wishes to travel and tends our children, as well as those of our patrons when they are not travelling with their parents."  
  
Daniel smiled. He and Teal'c, as well as the now-retired General Hammond, were amongst the small circle of people who knew the real story of Jack's 'death' and Sam's subsequent 'nervous breakdown' eleven years before.  
  
"They have two fine boys. They are good friends with my son and daughter: that is one more reason why I am happy working for them." continued Ari, smiling to himself.  
  
"So what are we waiting here for?" asked Jen. "Or rather, who?"  
  
"A minor Goa'uld and his Jaffa." said Ari. "I do not know which one: the higher ranks do not sully their hands with trade or commerce."  
  
"They trade with the Goa'uld?" cried Daniel in surprise. "I didn't think anyone would want to!"  
  
"Few do, as they are a fearful race." replied Ari. "But the Goa'uld cannot take the Universe by force alone and need to trade to sustain their empire. But for those who dare, the rewards are great and payments are prompt - unlike some supposedly friendly races! Sam and Jack have been dealing with them since they started the business."  
  
"But why do they need to continue trading, if they are worth so many billion librae?" asked Daniel. "They're rich beyond the dreams of most people on any world!"  
  
"Because JS Trading operates on many worlds. Most of their wealth sustains their operations on a diverse basis, and large funds are needed to trade and pay taxes." Ari explained, a wry smile appearing. "Taxes, they call them! On some planets we openly bribe officials and others just to stay in business! Sam and Jack are only moderately placed in the society of their home world."  
  
"Where is their home world?" asked Jen.  
  
"They will tell you if they wish you to know."  
  
Their attention was diverted by the sight and sound of the Gate activating. They watched Sam and Jack stand clear as a party of Jaffa ran through, brandishing staff weapons but not pointing them at the traders. After a brief delay, a short man overdressed in the usual Goa'uld finery stepped through the Event Horizon and stood on the steps leading down from the portal. Sam and Jack moved to face him and their dialogue, unheard at this distance, began.  
  
They saw the traders and the Goa'uld move to the rear of the waggon, and two Jaffa unloaded several boxes and wrapped items. The Goa'uld indicated one of the packages, and watched while Jack broke it open to reveal a small golden statue of what looked like a bird at this distance, glittering in the sunlight. The hairs on the back of Daniel's neck stood up as he recognised, or at least thought that he recognised the object.  
  
Sam passed a sheaf of papers to the Goa'uld and they stood talking for several minutes. Eventually the Goa'uld signalled to a Jaffa at the rear, who came forward and passed across a heavy leather satchel, which Jack placed by his feet. Several Jaffa then ran to the waggon and unloaded the rest of the contents, taking the packages away either individually or in pairs. When the waggon was empty, the symbols on the DHD were pressed and they lost no time in travelling back to whence they came.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
When the wormhole shut down, the watchers saw Jack bend down to pick up the satchel, only to have Sam goose him playfully as he did so. He shot upright, putting his arms round Sam's waist, picking her up and whirling her round, her arms round his neck. They seemed to be a picture of youthful happiness. She turned and signalled the waiting party to come down to the Stargate.  
  
Daniel however remained quiet as they walked, his mouth held in a grimace as he seethed with fury over what he had seen take place in the last few minutes.  
  
"Hello, space monkey!" cried Jack, stretching out his hand in greeting. "Ari," he continued, "time to drop the stage act for our good friends. Meet Daniel Jackson, Teal'c and former Lieutenant - now a Major, I guess! - Hailey of the Earth's SGC.  
  
Simultaneously Sam walked over to Teal'c and embraced him, his face breaking into a ridiculous grin. "Teal'c" she cried. "How we've missed you! You look so well now."  
  
"Likewise, Samantha." he replied.  
  
"Hailey. Good to see you're still with the SGC." said Jack, and she nodded in response, shaking his proffered hand.  
  
"Sam, Jack." said Daniel coldly, refusing the offer of Jack's outstretched hand, his face having lost none of the anger that had been building.  
  
"Daniel?" asked Jack, looking at him uncertainly. "Look, we're sorry about the play-acting, but we needed you to remain unknown until we were sure that no-one in the workforce was spying on us."  
  
"Jack," he replied in an icy tone, "what have you just sold to the Goa'uld?"  
  
"Oh, just the usual art collector's stuff, you know - paintings, ornaments, and a couple of icons we came by. They go for that kind of thing."  
  
"Where did that golden icon come from?" Daniel insisted. "The one that looked like a bird."  
  
"How should I know, Danny? We handle lots like that during the course of a year. Bought it at a good price, traded it on!"  
  
"And how do you think the owners of that icon feel about it? Especially if it was stolen from them in the first place!" Daniel turned to Sam, expecting a more reasonable response. "Sam, you must have checked its origins - surely you realise the spiritual values that people place on these religious artefacts?"  
  
Her reply left him shocked. "Not our problem. It came with a genuine receipt and we took it in. As Jack said, we get offered a few like that."  
  
Daniel was aghast. Sam had been his close friend all those years ago on SG- 1, and they had shared so many similar viewpoints, but now here she was, indistinguishable in attitude from her husband's somewhat expected cynical outlook. He looked round at the foreman.  
  
"Ari, you were raised by the brethren on Avor. Did you recognise that icon the Goa'uld have just taken away?"  
  
"Yes, I did." he replied. "It was almost certainly their Symbol of Lineage, a most revered icon."  
  
"And it means nothing to any of you that the Goa'uld now have possession of it? That they will almost certainly use that fact to coerce the brethren into at the very least softening their religious opposition! How could you do such a thing?"  
  
"We're traders, Daniel. We trade." replied Jack tersely. "What's so bad about paying people for goods instead of just robbing them from their worlds like we did on SG-1? Does calling them 'artefacts' make that all right?"  
  
"So you've abandoned Earth for commercial rewards, have you?" Daniel almost shouted. "And Sam, I can't believe the change in you! You used to care about people! Now you and Jack are like peas in a pod. What changed?"  
  
"Don't judge books by their covers, *Daniel*." said Sam, her own temper rising. "We only just survived a bad beating eleven years ago because a Goa'uld spy on Earth gave us away. Can you tell me who in the SGC leaked the existence of some of our mission documents and reports to the authorities on Huygens Four last year? The cops there tried to nail us and take our children too! Tell me who did that, eh?"  
  
"But that doesn't excuse selling stolen goods to the enemy!" replied Daniel. "Nothing does!"  
  
"Just calm down, Daniel." Jack interjected in a quieter voice. "Look, why don't you come back with us to see some more of what we do. It's not all like this. We've only been able to provide all the intelligence reports and technical gizmos for Earth by being accepted as traders everywhere. We can't be seen to be too selective in what we take on."  
  
"Maybe one day." replied Daniel. "But right now, I want no more involvement in this. Let me go home. Come on, Teal'c, Jen. Let's go." He moved towards the DHD but stopped without looking round when he realised that his colleagues were not following. He stiffened his back, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.  
  
"I'm sorry, Danny." said Jen. "But I think it's my duty to take them up on their offer right now."  
  
"I too, DanielJackson." added Teal'c.  
  
With a stone face, Daniel dialled the co-ordinates for Crucis 3A and stepped through the wormhole alone. The others watched him go in silence.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	5. The Price

Chapter 5 - The Price  
  
Jen Hailey and Teal'c travelled in an awkward silence for much of the journey after Daniel's departure. However, by the time they reached Sam and Jack's house on Mythor, they knew to put their immediate, somewhat confused feelings behind them and take in the hospitality on offer. In fact, it was easy to do, as the white-walled, red-roofed Mediterranean-style villa they entered was simply stunning, set on several levels on the side of a hill within a beautiful ornamental garden. "Sam's pride and joy." explained Jack. "The front garden's all her doing. I'm more of a 'rolling acres' kind of guy myself. As you'll see at the back."  
  
As Sam and Jack walked through the gates, two brown-haired, blue-eyed boys - obviously theirs even from a distance - rushed up to greet them, unabashed by the strangers present. A red-haired, strikingly handsome woman stood in the doorway to the house with two more children, and Ari walked straight up to embrace her and his family. He introduced her as Karinne to the newcomers.  
  
Jen remained polite and formal, but Teal'c lost more of his legendary reserve during the next two hours than ever before. He had previously only seen Jack and Sam as fighting colleagues on SG-1 and as hard-nosed traders during the last few days. The total contrast of their situation as parents brought to the surface emotions he normally kept well-hidden, the more so when Jacomb and Danil revealed how much they had been told about him by their parents. He was already a hero to them, and they monopolised his time before dinner with demands for explanations and stories about events and people he'd half-forgotten in many instances.  
  
Sam and Jen engaged in a long conversation about the SGC and the states of different branches of science, while Jack was content to busy himself with serving drinks and finishing the dinner preparations started earlier by Karinne. By dusk, the boys had been despatched to bed, and Ari and his family retired to the guest house in the large rear gardens.  
  
Dinner was a relaxed affair, the food and wine excellent, with conversation about serious matters deferred by unspoken agreement. Except, of course, the question that Jen had been dying to ask since they had cleaned up and changed into evening clothes after being shown their rooms. Fortunately Sam's clothes had fitted her quite well, whereas Jack's largest casual tunic could best be said to be a 'snug' fit on Teal'c.  
  
"Why have you both got tattoos on your forearms?"  
  
Sam extended her right arm so that Jen could see the fabulously intricate gold filigree patterns. As she looked closely, Hailey realised that they were not at all like coloured patterns drawn on the surface of the skin, but subcutaneous wire-like lines that had, over the years become an integral part of her forearm.  
  
"It's an im'ri." Sam explained. "Jack has the only matching one in existence. They're neural nets produced in unique pairs here on Mythor for people who want to dedicate their lives to each other. When we're together, they extend our consciousness of each other, so that we can both sense and experience the other's feelings and moods." She raised and eyebrow briefly at her husband in response to the playful, unseen, somewhat carnal 'feeling' that he managed to conjure up.  
  
"But how did they attach them?" asked Jen, more intrigued with this than anything she'd seen so far.  
  
"During the marriage ceremony, there's a focussed beam of narrow- frequency..." Sam began, only to be interrupted by Jack.  
  
"It's a secret of the Mythoran priesthood." he said quickly. "And no scientist is gonna strip away the mystique of one of the best things that ever happened to me!" He glared at Sam and she felt the redness of embarrassment rising. He continued "There's a beam of light that kind of welds it into your arm. It hurt like crazy for a few moments but that was all."  
  
"So could you sense each other straight away?" asked Jen.  
  
"No, it took weeks and months for the sensations to develop." said Sam. "It was difficult too, until we learned to expect and control the extremes of emotion that we felt, like when we were having a row, for instance. One of the worst times was when we both got beaten up and ended up in the SGC infirmary."  
  
"And the best?" asked Jen hopefully.  
  
"Giving birth!" said Sam.  
  
"Saturday nights!" laughed Jack simultaneously, earning a mock glare from Sam.  
  
"So, can anyone have them if they want?"  
  
"I thought so at first." replied Sam. "What we didn't know is that the priests have psychics among them who conduct the marriage ceremonies where im'ri bonding has been requested. If they don't sense deep enough compatibility then they won't proceed with that part of the ceremony. We only discovered later that around 80 per cent of applicants are refused, either before the ceremony or during it. The process is irreversible, and if one partner dies then the other is unlikely ever to bond to someone else." She exchanged a brief soulful look with her husband, and immediately Jen knew that they must have discussed this very seriously in view of their age difference, but Sam continued with a smile. "And I wouldn't change a thing. It was the one of the best moments of my life too."  
  
At that moment Teal'c glimpsed the true depth of their relationship, recalling the tension that had built up between them in their seven years in the SGC before Jack had left when he thought he'd lost her, causing Sam to realise what she'd done and starting her one-year campaign to get him back into her life. They'd never imagined the joys to come and the ways they so obviously filled each other's lives. The thought occurred to him that perhaps the im'ri enhancement had made little difference to the outcome, and that they would have been here together just the same, just as close. He observed O'Neill's thinning grey hair, and noted the deep lines etched in his weather-beaten face. He had gained weight as people of his age do, but was still supremely fit and muscular. Sam too had lost the slimmer features of her youth and her outdoor working life coupled with being the mother of two energetic boys, made for a more mature look. Neither she nor Jack seemed have an ounce of vanity about themselves.  
  
"You have prospered as traders." said Teal'c. "Yet in my time, I have seen few people living in fine houses like this who are prepared to undertake arduous labour themselves."  
  
"Hey, we only got lucky the last few years!" exclaimed Jack. "When Jacomb was born we just had a rented apartment above my first office here. I never figured I would sit around paying someone to let me get fat and lazy! And it took Sam's brains to get things moving in the right direction."  
  
"Well, I wasn't the one who thought up the six-way barter deal that got us really going!" said Sam. "What was it now? You traded sand from a desert world to a planet that was sinking into salt bogs. Then sea water from the liquid planet and desalination equipment to the desert world. Er, yes, then welding technology from an industrial planet to the fishermen of the sea world so they could build better boats, and you organised the export of ozone in tanks from the electric-powered industrial world to another planet that had a deficient ozone layer. Followed by livestock from that world back to the industrial planet and manure to the desert world so they could grow better crops. I didn't have anything to do with that! I thought he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic when we didn't have any money to see for it during the first few months. But then they started paying our commission fees and we netted over half a billion librae within a year. We never looked back after that."  
  
"Boy did we celebrate then!" laughed Jack. "And that's how Danil came to join his big brother. Talking of picnics, though, it was Sam's craving for bacon sandwiches when she was expecting him that brought us the trade in pigs. Sorry you two had to get so close and personal with them!"  
  
"Hey, I loved it!" said Jen. "Brought back my time growing up on my folks' farm. Daniel's allergies came back with a vengeance, though."  
  
"How did?...." Teal'c started to ask, but was cut off by Sam.  
  
"When I was pregnant, I made sure I had packed lunches with me when we travelled through the gates." she explained. "I offered a bacon sandwich to a buyer on one world and he'd never tasted anything like it. Well, they say most vegetarians who give up do it because of the smell of grilled bacon. They didn't have pigs on that world, but they surely do now!"  
  
Later, as Sam took her turn by clearing up, their guests sampled the local versions of brandy and coffee, served up by Jack. When Sam rejoined them, Jack knew that the time for pleasantries had passed.  
  
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"Let's talk about what we've done and where we go from here." he said, looking at Teal'c and Jen in turn. Sam gently nodded her agreement.  
  
"First, I am ashamed to admit that we have used Daniel's good nature against him and abused his friendship. He is right to be mighty angry about what he's seen us doing, and we're not proud of it. I hope that we'll straighten things out with him in due time, but if not, it's the price we and he will be paying for what we've done."  
  
"I will be happy to assist in repairing that relationship." stated Teal'c. "I realised from the start that you were holding back many things from us for good reasons. Ari told me to be patient and I trusted him. He is a good friend to you, O'Neill."  
  
"When did Ari tell you that?" asked Jen, surprised and a little upset to find that Teal'c had concealed this information.  
  
"Never mind that now." Jack continued. "The point is, we deliberately set out to acquire or steal a number of religious icons and works of art from different sects for no other reason than to sell them to the Goa'uld. You and Daniel have just been treated to a stage show demonstrating that these were the real McCoy. The Goa'uld treasure these items because they can use them to exert influence over the former owners. You can bet your life that they'll store them in really secure places back on the home worlds of the various Lords."  
  
"But why?" asked Jen. "Everybody will think you've abandoned all ties to Earth."  
  
"That's what we want them to believe." said Sam. "You can tell your CO that we won't be stopping sending them the Intel or the technology. But we won't allow ourselves to be put in a position again where we can be betrayed by a Goa'uld spy on Earth or even some NID moron who doesn't happen to like the shape of our noses."  
  
"But have you not given the Goa'uld a powerful hold over our allies and neutral peoples with these icons?" observed Teal'c.  
  
"In the short term, yes." Jack admitted. "But my resident genius has developed a little surprise for them that hopefully will bite 'em in their asses before they even know it's happening."  
  
All eyes were upon Sam, and she glanced briefly at Jack for reassurance before continuing. "Trojan horses." she said. "Beware of Mythorans bearing gifts! Do you remember the time dilation device that the Asgard used to trap the Replicators on that world?"  
  
"What, the ten to the fourth power temporal slowdown device? I read your report." said Hailey. "The ten hours elapsed time on their world that's been twelve years in our space-time?"  
  
"That's the one." replied Sam. "Well, I got another one from the Asgard two years ago to see whether I could adapt it for other uses. I discovered that I could miniaturise it and operate on just a trickle of power if I changed it to gradually increase the time gradient instead of just switching it on full in one go."  
  
"Aaagh!" sighed Jen, seeing the implications straight away. "So you implanted one in that icon you've just sold to the Goa'uld. And they won't notice any differences at first, but the planet it's on will gradually become more and more out of step with the rest of the Universe until it's too late! And if they don't know where the device is hidden, they'll stay living at a snail's pace! Brilliant!"  
  
"Who says there's just one?" observed Jack, a wry smile on his face. "We've been doing this for a while now. Noticed any particular System Lords failing to make the same impact they once did?"  
  
"I have heard of a few such." replied Teal'c. "A most ingenious weapon, Samantha."  
  
"And you expect Daniel to make a real fuss in public about the loss of the icons and the impact on their owners to convince the remaining Goa'uld to continue acquiring them!" said Jen excitedly. "Wow!"  
  
"Daniel has a kind heart and a deep moral sense of right and wrong." said Sam. "Believe me, if we could have thought of another way, we would have done it. I'm not sure he'll ever forgive us, and he'd be right not to."  
  
"But there's one thing more, Major." said Jack, surprising Jen by reverting to formal address. "Whoever was selected by the SGC to accompany Daniel on this mission to find us would have been contacted by someone from the NID. That someone would have made it very clear to you that we were not to be trusted, and that we were probably acting like agents who'd 'gone native' and were out of their control. Am I right?"  
  
Jen seem transfixed by the stare he was giving her. She merely nodded in response.  
  
"Jen, it's not that we don't trust you individually, but I guess you've had it made clear to you that your future career depends in no small way on giving that person detailed information about us and our operations." said Sam. Seeing Hailey nod again, she continued, "We'd be grateful if you didn't mention our home here on Mythor. It's the only place where the boys are truly safe."  
  
"I promise." she replied earnestly.  
  
"And if it looks like they're going to make a move against us anyway," said Jack, "then please would you remind them that we have space freighters with the radar cross-section of a sparrow and a plentiful supply of works of art. Comprende?"  
  
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It gave Sam and Jack no particular pleasure to learn of Daniel's success in making the theft and sale or religious artefacts a subject for public debate and outrage on several worlds over the next few months. But their surreptitious trade continued and the Goa'uld behaved exactly as expected, their greed and lust for power driving their acquisitive instincts. Eight more Goa'uld strongholds were starting their unseen and unfelt deceleration from the rest of the Universe.  
  
They were working in their office on Gryphon when Teal'c arrived unannounced. He lost no time in giving them the unwelcome news.  
  
"DanielJackson has gathered some followers and mounted a raid on a Goa'uld world to recover the Avorian icon." he said. "I have not told him of your activities. I fear that even if he remains free, he will do untold damage by removing the time device from the planet should he eventually succeed, however many years in our future that should be."  
  
"Shit!" hissed Sam, glancing at her husband. "We didn't think of that one."  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	6. Ten Thousand Days

"The next president's got a hard act to follow" said the man sitting at the table behind Daniel Jackson. "I can't remember as many changes as we've seen in the last five years - most of them for the good, as well."  
  
Daniel smiled grimly to himself, but it didn't go unnoticed by his partner. He broadened his smile as he looked at her - something he hadn't been able to stop doing these last ten days since she and the others around the table had lifted him from the sealed-off Goa'uld planet. He still saw Jennifer Hailey in one sense as the young woman he'd fallen for six months ago when they'd set out to find who was selling precious religious icons to the Goa'uld. But now, instead of being fifteen years his junior, she was a stunning, mature woman matching his own forty six years of age.  
  
'Damn time dilation!' The thought ran through him for the thousandth time. 'And damn Sam and Jack as well!' He still didn't know whether what they had done in atonement for using him would ever be enough for real forgiveness. Sure, he didn't want to go on hating them for a betrayal that wasn't really one - depending on your viewpoint of course - but the consequences of his being used like that rankled and the feelings would not lie down. Perhaps in time..  
  
He turned his attention back to Jen, and marvelled again at her instant (for him) transformation from thirty one to forty six. Fuller in the face and body, but still so attractive, the faint lines round her eyes only adding character. And, oh! Those freckles on her nose, cheeks and forearms. Over the last three days he'd taken to wondering how she thought of him, frozen in time for fifteen years, unchanging in appearance from the older man she'd fallen for so far back in her own past. The mischievous look in her eyes as she gazed back at him told him that he'd be silly to reject her now, and to be honest, that was the furthest thing on his mind.  
  
He reluctantly turned his attention back to the proceedings of the Interplanetary Traders Guild President's Dinner, held in the sumptuous and graceful surroundings that characterised so many of the buildings on Mythor. He still could not get used to Sam and Jack's appearance, which had shocked him so much a few days ago. They were *old*. He had stared open- mouthed when he had clambered out of the rescue ship into the cargo hold of their space freighter just over a week ago. As far as he was concerned, they'd crash-landed on the Goa'uld world in Earth year 2015 and been taken off again half a day later to find that the year was now mysteriously 2031.  
  
Jack, as the retiring Guild President, sat in the place of honour at the top table with Sam beside him on his right. His wispy grey hair topped a craggy, deeply-suntanned face that was so familiar and yet so changed. He looked superbly fit for a seventy-nine year old, but at the same time had become like a favourite grandfather figure. Only his deep brown eyes remained as Daniel had known them. His elder son Jacomb looked more like the Jack he had known back in the days of the first Abydos mission.  
  
And Sam.. Well, still so recognisably herself, but her golden hair now mostly grey, her lined face still so attractive yet mature. He just couldn't get used to the fact that she was now sixty four years old. Like Jack, she was more thick-set than he had known before, but had a grace that was obvious to the eyes of most. She caught Daniel staring at her, and briefly flashed him a nervous smile before the person on her right engaged her in conversation again.  
  
On this formal occasion everyone was expected to follow the correct Mythoran dress code - sleeveless gowns for the women and short-sleeved tunics for the men. There was no denying the visual impact of so many guests whose only differences in style were the colours they chose - white, grey, dark blue or black, and their choice of jewellery. Jack was the exception, wearing no rings or necklaces, but it was his last time to wear the President's platinum Chain of Office. Sam too had chosen only a simple circlet, but the exotic iridescent stone that hung at her throat served to highlight her still-fascinating eyes. And since this was after all the home world of the ultimate wedded bond, the lighting was especially arranged to show off the im'ri implantations worn by several couples throughout the grand hall.  
  
Daniel still marvelled at the way Jack and Sam communicated so intimately by a combination of looks, gestures and relatively few words, as did the other bonded couples. They were both speaking far more to neighbouring guests and officials than to each other, yet it seemed as though nothing important was escaping their enhanced dialogue.  
  
He looked back past Jen at the others seated at his own table. Teal'c - the man he'd thought to be his truly close friend, yet whom he was still learning to fully trust again after their adventures of the last few months. Teal'c too was now fifteen years older than before, but showed little visual change to the casual eye. However Daniel had seen how he tired more quickly these last few days - still a superb athlete compared to the average Tau'ri specimen, but not the same as he was when they'd first met.  
  
Either side of Teal'c sat the O'Neill children, who still treated him as their hero. 'Children!' thought Daniel sarcastically. 'Children to me six months ago, now adults of twenty six and twenty four. Damn time dilation!' he sighed again. Jacomb, so like his father had been, a sometimes reckless, forceful daredevil who nevertheless carried an aura of caring leadership. And Danil, named after himself, but so unlike his elder brother. You could see some of his mother's facial characteristics in the half-light, other times not. The brains of the family, even more a technical genius than Sam had been at her brilliant best. And furthest from him were Ari, Sam and Jack's foreman, and his attractive wife Karinne.  
  
The deep reverberating note of a large gong sounded, and conversation in the hall died out slowly. On the dais, Jack rose from his seat to start his retiring President's address, exchanging a brief brilliant smile with Sam as he steadied himself.  
  
"Members of the Society and Honoured Guests." he began before pausing momentarily. "It has been an honour to serve. These traditional words are self-evidently true for any President who has had the good fortune to make it through to the full term of office. Yet to me they have a personal significance beyond even that, which I will explain in a moment." He paused again, looking at the host of expectant faces around him.  
  
"My five anni as President have coincided with the most significant event to befall the known universe in many, many generations. I refer of course to the still incomplete but certain defeat of the Goa'uld as the enslavers of countless peoples." He waited until prolonged applause died away. "Of course, there may be some traders who regret the passing of a clientele that always paid its bills on time.." He paused again as the laughter subsided.  
  
"But mark my words. The opportunities for free trade amongst emancipated worlds have never been as abundant as now. We can now be assured of fewer restrictions on technology and industrial goods. If sold and used wisely, great benefits for the living standards and future prospects of so many races will follow. We are all, in this Guild, wealthy beyond the dreams of the vast majority of people alive in the Gate-connected universe. Let us use these profits with equal wisdom and generosity to avoid the worst excesses of pollution and exploitation that have characterised the past." More applause caused him to halt again.  
  
"It is my privilege tonight to reveal to you one of the major factors, and the identity of some of the true geniuses, that have brought about the downfall of the Goa'uld." Sam suddenly looked up at him in alarm, but he motioned with his hand to calm her, and she felt the sudden panic disappear through their highly-developed *feeling* for each other.  
  
"Many of you know my wife Samantha." he continued. "She is the person who adapted and developed the means to isolate so many Goa'uld worlds, as a direct result of which their power base collapsed so rapidly." Gasps of surprise and more applause rippled throughout the hall. Sam looked down modestly at the table, but couldn't resist a broad smile appearing.  
  
"As many of you also know, these worlds have been *insulated* behind a temporal slow-down field that means that life continues as normal for the inhabitants, but ten thousand times more slowly than in the universe outside their atmospheres. One hour for them is equivalent to four hundred and sixteen standard days for the rest of us. Their Stargates no longer function as further dialling signals from other worlds are blocked by the delayed previous signal still being played out at the arrival Gates. Space ships passing through the time-change boundary in the atmosphere lose their computers because the front end of the ship is suddenly ageing ten thousand times slower than the back end." He paused and stage-whispered *sotto voce* to Sam, "Hey, am I getting this right so far, dear?" The audience responded with more laughter. Jack's attitude to high technology was well-known to fellow Guild members. Daniel now realised what had caused his Tel'tak craft to suddenly go out of control, resulting in the need to be manually crash- landed on the surface.  
  
Looking up again, Jack continued, "Of course, the Goa'uld still rule on these planets, if a little slowly. But competent armies and civil administrations now exist in sufficient numbers in the United Universe to be able to deal with these remaining planets one by one. And of course, the traders will follow!" More applause rippled round.  
  
"But how did we get the Goa'uld to deliver their own means of destruction? Quite simply, we let them be taken in by their own avarice. We acquired, sometimes I will admit not by completely fair means, a number of art works, cultural and religious symbols and icons, implanted them with the time- delay devices, and sold them to the willing buyers! They could not wait to take these coveted items back to their home worlds, with the result that within three weeks of universe time, they were unknowingly living at a snail's pace." Some of the audience responded with 'oohs' and 'aahs', pretending that they had known the principle all along but were merely awaiting details.  
  
Jack stood straight and stared directly at Daniel. "I have a confession to make, Ladies and Gentlemen, of which I am not proud. In order to convince the Goa'uld of the desirability of acquiring such items, I callously used the good nature of my greatest friend without his knowledge. The Goa'uld fell for it, of course, thanks to his protests about the sale of these icons. But I wish to state before you all that I am truly, truly sorry for the way we used the good name of Dr. Daniel Jackson of the Crucis Archaeological Institute. His protests about our apparently callous actions stirred the hearts of millions on various worlds. But being a man of deeds as well as thoughts, he didn't stop there and unknowingly lead an expedition onto a time-warped planet to recover one of these valuable items."  
  
Jack paused again, lifted his reading glasses from his nose and sought out Daniel in the audience. "Daniel, Sam and I ask publicly tonight to consider forgiving us, however long it takes. We used you, used your good nature to defeat the enemy. I never thought that we would succeed so well or at such cost to you and to ourselves. The fifteen years you have been missing from our time can never be compensated." A ripple of soft applause passed through the crowd but died away quickly.  
  
Daniel blinked and the wave of emotion overtook him. Feeling that some kind of response was called for, he stood briefly and smiled at Jack, nodding his head. But deep down, he wasn't ready to go all the way yet, and Jack could instantly tell that further heart-searching talks lay ahead, when the time was right. Daniel sat down again, and Jen leaned across, squeezing his hand and kissing him on the cheek. He blinked several times in reaction to his state of inner conflict.  
  
Jack's duties as speaker had not finished, however, and the audience turned their attention back to him. "My final act as President of the Guild is to pay tribute to the person who has given me the life that I have, and if I have done some good work for the Guild, she has been the driving force and support that has made it all happen." He looked down at his wife. "Smile, dear, it's you again!"  
  
As the guests burst into wild applause, Sam blushed as deep a red as anyone had ever seen, but couldn't help the joyous grin that seemed to cover her entire face. She stood up and leaned across to kiss him briefly before sitting down again. She would remember the next few moments for the rest of her life.  
  
When all was silent again, Jack said, "Sam was a scientist when I met her, but I don't hold that against her any longer." Laughter ran round the hall. "The discoveries and inventions that she has made in her lifetime have revolutionised physics. Aided by Dr. Jackson and our great companion Teal'c, she has moulded particle physics, astronomical calculations and computing throughout the Gated worlds. She taught the Asgard to think illogically!" More laughter resounded. "And yet, for reasons I will never understand, she chose me as her life's companion. She saved my life by her quick thinking and bravery on many occasions, but never once made me feel small or insignificant. How could I ever resist that?"  
  
He turned to face Sam again, to find she was looking up at him in awe. "One of our first misadventures together was to get stranded in an ice cave, cut off from everyone. We were dying together from the cold, and the last words I remember you saying to me, Sam, were 'It's been an honour to serve'. Well, the honour was mine Sam, so much so that after we were rescued and I was recovering, I knew that my life was the better for having you in it." Her smile broke out again.  
  
"But clever scientist that you are, my dear," he continued, "I know there's one thing you haven't realised." A frown appeared but her smile remained. "Today marks the day that we have been together as im'ri bonded partners for ten thousand days. That's just over twenty seven Earth years." More applause, cheers and whistles abounded. As they died down, he spoke the words that finally caused her tears to flow. "And I have loved you and your obsession with your doohickies on every single one of them. Future Guild Presidents will count themselves lucky to have even half the support and joy from their partners that you have given me. Thank you, Samantha."  
  
As tumultuous cheers and clapping began, Sam rose and threw her arms round his neck, and held him tight for several moments. Eventually they both turned to face the audience. Standing behind her with his left hand on her waist, he grasped her right hand in his and they raised their right arms together, their im'ri patterns in close contact flashing and sparkling in the spotlights. 


	7. What Price Fame?

The Deputy Director of the NID was in no mood to be held up in looking for explanations. "So you tell me, Barrett, why ex-USAF Major Samantha Carter is pictured here with a husband who supposedly died twenty seven years ago? And why a goddamned Traders' Union should be able to have such power as to limit our ability to establish an off-world economic dependency?" He passed across the picture of Sam and Jack standing together, receiving a standing ovation at the end of his retirement speech.  
  
"I can't explain it either, Sir." replied Barrett, shifting nervously as he shuffled in the visitor's chair. 'Damn it!' he was thinking. 'Three weeks to retirement - I don't need this.'  
  
"Didn't you know the woman once?" the Director continued. "How did we lose track of her?"  
  
"She was discharged from the Air Force on medical grounds - nervous breakdown, I believe, after her husband died - supposedly. She went to ground after that and we just stopped surveillance, what with limited manpower resources and all."  
  
"And her *dead* husband?"  
  
"Er, her former CO, Colonel Jack O'Neill. He'd already taken a medical discharge and went off on an extended off-world spying mission for the old SGC, posing as a trader. She joined him a year later and for twenty years they carried on passing intel back to Stargate Command until that was wound up in '24. After that it seems they had no-one to report to - some snafu about transferring roles and responsibilities when the last of the staff got laid off - so they just carried on trading."  
  
"So why can't we just get them to carry on reporting to us now?"  
  
"Several reasons, Sir. First, they're no longer active in the field - O'Neill is seventy nine now, and she has no political ambitions. Second, they've 'gone native' as far as the Traders Guild is concerned - in fact, they *are* the Traders Guild. No-one following him as President of the Guild is going to change direction suddenly. They will continue to wield considerable influence in interplanetary commercial politics for years to come."  
  
"So are you telling me that the Guild's schemes to regulate Earth's economic expansion plans were formulated by them? What would it take to remove them? Economic incentive?"  
  
"Sir, you may not have seen the full details of the investigation into the Traders Guild." said Barrett diplomatically. "The whole Earth's GNP doesn't compare to the combined wealth of members of the Guild. Even individually, they couldn't be bought. They've had generations to build fortunes as a result of trading throughout the Gate network. Even the O'Neill's - their company is called SJ Trading, by the way, have amassed an incredible fortune by Earth's standards in less than thirty years. They're not for sale at any price."  
  
"I see." replied the Deputy Director, remaining quiet as he thought these things through. After a minute or so, he sat up and smiled at Barrett.  
  
"Well, thank you for your input, Captain. Now, I believe that you're retiring in a couple of weeks or so? Clearly you won't want to get involved in a matter as time-consuming as this so close to The Big Day. I'll send someone to be briefed by you. Expect them this afternoon. And, good work, by the way."  
  
"Thank you, Sir." replied Barrett, standing up and leaving without ceremony, relieved to be out of it all.  
  
As the door closed, the Deputy Director pressed the button on the secure line to his superior. "Sir? I'd like authorisation for a house cleaning operation. Off-world. Yes, Sir. Nothing traceable to Earth or the agency. Very quick, very clean. Thank you, Sir, I will."  
  
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Several thousand parsecs distant, Jonas Quinn, President and CEO of Kelownan Universal TV, made sure his reporting staff all understood their tasks for the next few hours. It was the day after Jack's retirement. He looked at each of them in turn.  
  
"Interview Jackson to get his viewpoint on being manoeuvred into his campaign and his rescue." said the first newshound.  
  
"Get the low-down on Hailey and why she abandoned her career and partner to go rescue him." said the next.  
  
"Talk to the sons, find out their part in the rescue."  
  
"Interview the next Guild President on policy, continuity, blah blah blah."  
  
"Don't undersell that element!" warned Jonas. "Try to get a statement on why they oppose the unregulated expansion of the Earth's dependencies. Yes, we think we know why," he interjected, anticipating the man's argument. "But get the official view. Never assume." He looked to the next person.  
  
"The short straw!" replied the novice reporter. "Interview Teal'c. Break new ground by actually getting him to say anything revealing *at all*!" His comrades laughed and one ruffled his hair.  
  
Jonas grinned too. "We all started somewhere!" he said. "But here's a tip... Ice cream!" He carried on smiling at the man's look of puzzlement and moved on. "All right, girls and boys! You know how many news organisations would give their souls for the exclusive that we're getting today. Knock 'em dead!"  
  
He turned and walked out of the room to the waiting aerocar sent by Sam and Jack, and was gone in moments to interview them - the CEO's prerogative, of course.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	8. Shedding Light

Like so many visitors before him, Jonas could not fail to be impressed by Sam and Jack's multi-level villa stepping up the hillside, as he exited the aerocar near the ornamental front gates. White walls, red tile roofs - definitely Greek stylistic origins, he thought. Most of the world of Mythor was kept by its inhabitants in a state of aesthetic grace, without question or argument. The tradition had grown up over so many generations that allowing unkempt, dirty or ramshackle sites to develop was just unthinkable. 'Like Earth's Switzerland used to be before money became too important.' he found himself thinking, recalling a memorable vacation during the time he'd served on SG-1.  
  
The ornate gates opened soundlessly as he approached and he passed through into the most exotic gardens he had ever seen. Other visitors had talked often about them, and how Sam had devoted so much of her soul into creating and maintaining her masterpiece. Even though he knew this, the water cascading gently down through the several levels of landscaped enclosures looked, sounded and smelled like nothing he'd ever experienced. Trees, bushes and flowers that he knew must have originated on many different worlds blended in a visual and olfactory treat, the perennially mild climate ensuring vibrant displays of purples, reds, yellows and blues at all times of the year. He spied an arbour at the far side of a pond, where a servant was laying the table for a meal.  
  
As he strolled up the stone path towards the large polished wood front door to the porch, it swung open and Sam stood waiting to greet him. Jonas had grown used to seeing so many Mythorans habitually wearing robes and loose garments that it took him by surprise to see her in a chequered shirt and slacks that might be mistaken for jeans at a distance.  
  
"You haven't changed much in five years, stranger!" smiled Sam as their outstretched hands came together. She pulled him towards her and kissed his cheek.  
  
"Neither have you, Sam!" beamed Jonas. The last time they had met was on Kelowna, at the party celebrating Jonas' appointment as head of the national TV network. He turned and gestured at the gardens. "This is breathtaking, Sam. I'd heard about it but they didn't do justice."  
  
"Why, thank you, Jonas." she purred. "It's been my dream for twenty years. It's only really looked like this for the last five. I kept adding to them while Jack was extending the house up the hill and landscaping the back. Come on through - he's looking forward to seeing you too." She led him through the atrium and up a flight of wide stone steps into a large lounge. A hand-woven rug in multiple shades of green covered the centre of the marble floor, surrounded by deep comfortable armchairs, and behind them an array of ornaments on wall shelves. Jonas could see other rooms leading off on three sides.  
  
"How many rooms do you have, Sam? Are your sons still living at home?" asked Jonas.  
  
"Twenty-three in all, not counting the guest lodge and my lab in the back garden." she replied. "Jacomb and Danil still have their own rooms for when they visit, but they're away most of the time these days. I suppose now that Jack's retired from being Guild President we'll have less visitors, but we'll never move. We built this place together and we'll both see out our days here. We love it. We've got smaller houses on other worlds, mostly to stay in when we're away on business, but this is *home*."  
  
"No, er, grandchildren on the horizon?" asked Jonas tentatively.  
  
"Not yet, but Jacomb's getting awfully interested in a red-haired girl - one of Karinne's nieces, actually. You never know." Sam explained.  
  
"If we get to be grandparents before he's wed, he'll get my boot up his ass, octogenarian or not! And that's nothing compared to what he'd get from Ari." came a gruff voice from behind Jonas. He turned to meet Jack's huge smile and outstretched hand.  
  
"Jack! You're looking well. Great speech last night, by the way - I saw the telecast. I bet Sam thought so too. Congratulations!" Jonas turned to see her smiling and blushing.  
  
"Credit where it's due, that's all." said Jack. "I'd be nowhere without her."  
  
"Works both ways, dearest." Sam chirped up. "Did you know he turned down an offer to become a Senator, Jonas?"  
  
"Too many old farts in the job already." grunted Jack. "Anyhow, I kept getting this nightmare of turning into a ghost from the past - Kinsey! Don't get me wrong: it's a tough job. It just isn't me, is all."  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Where do you want to do your interview, Jonas?" asked Sam. "Shouldn't there be a cameraman or somebody to film us?"  
  
"No, we've got these little holocams now." he replied, taking a small silver object from his pocket. "We can just set it up in the room anywhere. It not only photographs what it sees directly, but bounces signals off the walls and ceiling to build up a three-dimensional image of the room and its occupants in real-time. We'll cut and paste the images to give continuity for the broadcast tonight." He had Sam's attention but Jack was already in a state of obvious withdrawal.  
  
"I see!" said Sam enigmatically. "And the computer-generated holo images are so realistic now that you can make it look as though we're being filmed from any angle throughout the chat! I could do with one of those for recording experiments in my lab."  
  
"Amazing." said Jack dryly. "I'll have one installed in the guest bedroom for voyeurs."  
  
They eventually settled on the sun lounge at the rear of the house for the recording, and after finishing their drinks, Jonas began with the introductions to camera and set the scene. He'd already warned them that some of the questions would be tough, but they'd faced worse both as traders and during Jack's time as Guild President, and were not concerned.  
  
"How did you become Guild President? After all, JS Trading is one of the youngest companies in the Guild." asked Jonas.  
  
"I was a compromise candidate." Jack explained. "There are so many distinguished families whose membership goes back generations that sometimes they act like rival groups of royalty contesting the throne. Five years ago the power blocs couldn't agree, so - enter the youngster who couldn't do much damage. I know for a fact that they didn't realise that Sam and I were coming with an agenda."  
  
"What agenda was that?"  
  
Jack looked towards Sam and she took up the challenge. "Well, throughout Guild history, there's always been the Goa'uld empire. Some traders fell foul of them and were eliminated from time to time, but most just co- existed and chose to ignore the excesses of subjugation and slavery. The Guild was essentially a society for advancement of its members and a means of keeping the rewards of trading in its own hands. It was more than that, of course, and there are many ethical and paternalistic companies out there. But the Guild had never taken any official stand on issues like the freedom of peoples and economic exploitation. With the war against the Goa'uld going well, we decided to try to use the situation to our advantage."  
  
"How did you go about getting the changes in place?"  
  
"We were sneaky, of course!" replied Jack. "We kind of let several trader families think that the ideas were coming from their rivals. You know, buy themselves a page in the history books for reasons other than profit. Quite a few actually wanted to move in that direction for good reasons as well as self-gratification, so within two years we had The Trading Charter being talked about across the Gated worlds, and implemented as Guild policy last year."  
  
"Yes, you certainly lobbied Kelownan Universal about it for a long time." said Jonas. "What does it mean to you personally?"  
  
"No more standing by or participating in trading activities that sustain slavery, economic or otherwise." said Sam, the light in her eyes revealing her inner passion for the subject. "Regulated trade through the Stargates is a powerful means of influencing those things."  
  
"Try to stop people carrying on screwing up their worlds with technologies that shouldn't be there, or should be controlled better. Sure, we're probably nothing more than a pin-prick on the face of time, but it's a start." said Jack. "If you want to know how I think about that, I want to be able to go to a world - any world - and fish."  
  
"Fish?" came Jonas' astonished response. Astonished for the camera's benefit, of course. As a seasoned journalist he was just loving the colour of the interview, and the way Jack and Sam's personalities were going to make the broadcast of this normally dry subject so much more watchable.  
  
"Yup." Jack responded. "Can't do that if the water's polluted or the fish stocks are dying or exhausted. I can name a whole string of planets where that's already gone down." Jonas knew that both Earth and Kelowna were somewhere near the top of this list.  
  
"Do you think the regulations will stick over time?"  
  
"They've got to." replied Sam. "Most of the planets where the Stargates have been in use for generations are actually the ones going along with the new standards. They're glad to be rid of the Goa'uld and can see the benefits. The loudest opposition is coming from worlds like Earth, for example, to whom the Gates are still a novelty. They just see them as a means of expanding their influence or importing resources that are lacking on their own world. They don't want to acknowledge restrictions or rules that they don't have control over."  
  
They talked for another twenty minutes on Guild activities, revealing both Jack and Sam's stated lack of interest in entering politics. But it was clear that both would be involved with the Guild, and thus not really outside politics, for the rest of their lives.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
After a break for more drinks - Jonas was trying to work out whether the local fruit juice was not just a little bit more alcoholic than he suspected - they resumed the recording.  
  
"It's clear that isolating several Goa'uld home planets tipped the scales in the war against them." stated Jonas. "How did you think of it?" Jack motioned in Sam's direction, hoping to avoid the technospeak himself.  
  
She shook her head and laughed. "Oh no, Jack! That was your idea originally. I just adapted the Asgard technology. You said 'We just need to run quicker than them, that's all.' It was when we were escaping from Huygens 4B with the kids." She turned back to face Jonas. "He couldn't sleep when we got home, and he sure as hell was stopping me from dozing off. So I got up and made us some tea, and as we sat up in bed drinking it, he just came out with 'Frozen Replicators!' He then said we should ask the Asgard for a time-dilation device and I took it up from there. Thor was amenable and I modified the design for a gradual switch-on instead of instantaneous effect and managed to miniaturise the design so it could be easily hidden."  
  
"Yeah, like that was a straightforward job for your everyday time-dilation engineer!" Jack interjected. "Even the Asgard had never done that."  
  
"No, Jack." she retorted. "The clever person is the one who starts with a blank sheet of paper. Adapting and developing stuff is relatively easy. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open."  
  
"Humph!" snorted Jack. "This from the woman who started DU Industries and has patent rights on dozens of gizmos on sale throughout the universe. Including that holocam over there, I might add!"  
  
The said camera caught Jonas' open-mouthed surprise so well. "Er, DU Industries? You own the company?"  
  
"Yup. 'Doohickies Unlimited' it was originally." said Jack. "Sam's present to me on my sixty-fifth birthday. Our son Danil is now the chief executive and pretty much runs it by himself. I hate to say it, but he's even more of a geek than his mother."  
  
Sam smiled - she was used to this. She continued "But to get back to the point, you already know how we concealed the devices and got the Goa'uld to take them back to their planets. But what we didn't fully appreciate at the time was that we had closed the doors, so to speak, but didn't have a key to open them again. It wasn't until Daniel Jackson got himself marooned that we had to think of a way of getting him off again. And that took us sixteen years in our time - fifteen to develop the means, and one to get him off, all the while he only aged fourteen hours."  
  
"So how did you do it?"  
  
"We had anticipated that the planets' Stargates would cease functioning, and that ships' computers would be in trouble crossing the time-gradient. Our first attempts to have a rescue craft gliding under manual control through the time barrier in the atmosphere came to nothing." explained Sam. "We watched from geostationary orbit in one of our freighters and as soon as the pilotless test-craft became submerged in the time-change boundary, it was already going slowly and just froze where it was from our viewpoint. It was clear that we might get it to work eventually, but our great great grandchildren would be the ones to greet Daniel. Then we took up another of Jack's ideas and went fishing instead." Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she said it.  
  
"Fishing?"  
  
"Well, kind of." said Jack. "I'd read somewhere about the idea of running a cable from geostationary orbit down to the surface of a planet, to form the basis of an elevator system into space. Sam, you explain, please."  
  
"Possible in theory, but no-one's ever had the materials available to try. We needed a cable forty thousand kilometres long from stretch from orbit to the surface. We thought we could shoot a rescue cage straight down so that when it crossed the time-change barrier, it wouldn't take forever. But the only material known to be light yet strong enough to support its own weight and the stresses we would be putting on it was Fullerite."  
  
Jonas nodded knowingly but asked, "Please would you explain that for the benefit of the viewers?"  
  
"It's a form of carbon fibre with a special molecular pattern that gives it such strength. It was originally called Buckminster Fullerene, after its inventor. We knew about the properties, but it's still a pretty rare material and we needed enormous quantities. It does occur in nature, but almost exclusively in the corona of red dwarf stars. We firstly had to design a means of recovering it from there."  
  
"So that was the end of that idea, then?"  
  
"Oh no." said Sam. "We captured some Goa'uld ring transporter devices and adapted them to repeatedly dip into the stars' atmospheres from orbiting ships for rapid extraction of the elements. Gradually we captured enough. We converted a derelict space station into a factory for refining the material and spinning the fibre - it's still there today, in orbit around Barnard's Star, producing ninety-seven percent of the spun Fullerite in the known universe. Eventually we had enough, but it had taken over eight years before we started lowering the cable into the atmosphere. Fortunately by this time Daniel had managed to land his Tel'tak on the surface of the planet. We could watch it all from orbit, like freeze-frame actions, over the years we were working to get him off."  
  
"So that was how you got them off the planet, then?"  
  
"Unfortunately not." replied Jack. "Even though we'd developed a control system for our freighter to hold it absolutely still in orbit over the site of Daniel's crashed ship, we hadn't allowed for the effects of solar wind on the cable itself. The slightest movements in the cable above the time- change barrier caused the cable below the barrier to move at supersonic speeds in a kind of whiplash effect. The furthest we got was two kilometres below it before we lost that cable as well. They all broke apart near the barrier. That was when we decided that this was never going to work under these circumstances."  
  
"So, what happened next?"  
  
"We were stumped, quite frankly." said Sam. "Jack was actually contemplating leaving all of us to take the glider option to the surface by himself when our son Danil came up with the beginnings of what eventually turned out to be the solution."  
  
"And that was?"  
  
"The Quantum Traverse Effect." said Sam. "From the age of eight, he's been engrossed in the physics of atoms and molecules. He got the idea from seeing how electrons in orbit round the nucleus of an atom could jump from one orbital to another in zero time and back again. He thought that if he could engineer a field big enough to contain a small ship, then it should be possible to travel instantaneously from one place to another in 3D space- time. It took us seven years to build the ship that made the trip last year. I will admit though, that we splattered some of the prototypes across the universe before we got it right. Our other son Jacomb is the skilled pilot of the family, and was the only person to trust Danil's calculations enough to even want to test-fly it."  
  
"Last year? I thought that they returned only ten or eleven days ago!" exclaimed Jonas.  
  
"They did." said Jack. "But even though they descended from orbit to the surface instantly, once they got out of the ship it took them nearly an hour in their time to convince Daniel and his three companions to get on board. That's been about a year in universe time and again we were able to watch it all in slow-mo from orbit. Teal'c volunteered to go because if it came to it, he was going to subdue Daniel's protests and carry him on board. Jacomb piloted the craft, Danil was the flight engineer and our foreman Ari was there to convince Daniel's followers to come back too."  
  
"Why Ari? I can see the reasons for the others to be there." said Jonas.  
  
"Because in addition to being our right-hand man and the new CEO of JS Trading" said Jack, "he is also the High Priest of the Avorian brethren. You know, the religious group whose stolen icon caused all the fuss in the first place. His full name is Evenerari. He worked on the scheme to dupe the Goa'uld with us right from the start and had someone slip his signed note asking for help to an Earth SG team. That's how we snared Daniel into the scheme in the first place. We knew Daniel's helpers would recognise him and hopefully not put up resistance to leaving the planet. Seems it worked. We made sure his wife Karinne and their kids were looked after in his absence."  
  
Jonas was mentally dancing for joy. 'Is this a scoop, or is this a scoop?' he kept thinking. He tried to calm himself for more probing questions about the new Quantum technology, but was interrupted by the call tone of a small videphone on the table beside Sam.  
  
She looked up at Jonas and said in a serious voice, "Cut the recording, Jonas. Now."  
  
"Camera off!" called Jonas, and it obeyed.  
  
"Accept call." said Sam and the miniature screen came to life to reveal Ari's features.  
  
His message was terse. "SJ Trading." was all he said.  
  
"Thanks, Ari." said Sam. "Phone off." The screen went blank again.  
  
"What was that?" enquired Jonas.  
  
"Coded alert." replied Jack. "It means someone from Earth is sniffing around at the spaceport where our freighters are, asking about us. We registered the company as SJ Trading on Earth, but it's JS Trading everywhere else. They're going after us."  
  
"Why?" asked Jonas.  
  
"We're the enemy now, because of the trade regulations." said Sam quietly. "You might not want to be too close to us for the next few days, Jonas. Just in case."  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


	9. Kismet

Jonas had personally chaired the final editorial meeting before the night's telecast. "Roll the final cut of Daniel Jackson's interview." he commanded. After a few seconds Daniel's bespectacled face filled the screen. The editorial staff knew to listen intently and watch for any gaffes that might not have been noticed before - they held the unenviable record for the number of contributions to the hit show 'Intergalactic Bloopers'.  
  
"We had no clue what we were heading into." Daniel was saying. "The Tel'tak suddenly lurched violently and the autopilot and nav systems just cut out. Fortunately my 2IC Farquharson was up to the job and managed to ease it out of a full crash trajectory, but we came down pretty hard nonetheless. It was two hours before we managed to get everyone out of the wreck."  
  
"Were you near to where you had intended to land in the first place?" came an off-screen voice.  
  
"No, we were lost. One person had a broken arm, which we splinted, but everyone could walk. We decided to head in the general direction of the Stargate but it was an unknown distance. We reckoned if we could stay out of trouble we would eventually make it back."  
  
"And had you given up the idea of retrieving the icon by this time?"  
  
"Yes, unfortunately. The brethren were for continuing the expedition but I knew that we had little chance once our crashed ship was discovered, if our descent hadn't been reported already. We walked for most of the day before dusk fell and we set up camp near a forest."  
  
"When did you first become aware of a rescue attempt being made from orbit?"  
  
"That evening for certain. During the day we'd heard some strange, very loud noises up in the air. A bit like distant gunshots, you know, but coming from way overhead. We looked up several times but never saw anything. It was only after we learned of the failed attempts to lower a carbon fibre cable down to us from orbit that I realised these sounds must have been those cables breaking up. But it was during the evening that we experienced a very, very loud double bang nearby - rather like a thunderstorm that's too close for comfort, or a supersonic aircraft at low level. It turned out to be the arrival of our rescue craft about five hundred metres from our position. We started to run but stopped when we heard Teal'c's voice on a loudspeaker calling my name."  
  
"And were you pleased to see him?"  
  
"Not initially, I will admit. The last time I'd seen him was when we'd witnessed the icon being sold to the Goa'uld on Haven Minor. Neither he nor Jen Hailey followed me when I left there to start my campaign to protest against these sales to the Goa'uld. I had no idea that Sam and Jack were playing a double game at that time, and I admit that I was livid with them all. In fact the scale of their activities still astounds me.  
  
The strangest thing was the appearance of the people accompanying Teal'c. Ari looked a lot older than when I'd seen him on Haven Minor, and one of the other two looked quite like Jack when I'd first met him. It was a shock when he introduced himself and his brother as their grown-up children. We just couldn't believe it. They started to explain about our being caught in a time-dilation field on the planet, but I still thought this was some sort of trick. In fact, it was my companions - three members of the Avorian brethren, who'd recognised Ari as their High Priest. They convinced me that we should go with them, especially when Teal'c explained that another year had gone by up there just since they'd arrived."  
  
"Were you still resentful towards the O'Neill's at this stage?"  
  
"If I'm honest, yes. They hadn't seen fit to trust me in the first place. I was manipulated by my closest friends. It took time to understand just what role Ari had played in all this too, since he'd done the same thing to his own sect. And later I began to realise the consequences of having a sixteen- year chunk taken out of my life. I.. I know that they've pulled off a spectacular victory against the Goa'uld. I just don't know how I feel about it all at the moment."  
  
"What happened when you got up into orbit, back into *normal* time?"  
  
"When we left the rescue ship in the freighter's cargo bay, I was completely taken aback by the appearance of Sam and Jack. I do admit that thoughts of punching Jack on the nose weren't far from the front of my mind. The first thing they did, of course, was to embrace their sons, who'd been gone a year since the start of the trip down to the surface. But when they looked at me, I couldn't speak. The last time I'd seen Sam she was more or less my own age, but now she was like an elderly stranger. And Jack looked like my great-grandfather when I was young. We didn't say much - I didn't know where to begin. But seeing Jen Hailey now my own age had completely the opposite effect. In fact she was the one who talked me through those first few hours."  
  
"Do you feel any different now, since you've had some time to digest what's happened to you, and perhaps seeing the way the war is being won? And also their public apology to you at the Guild dinner?"  
  
"Yes... No.. I really don't know, if I'm honest. Jen wants me to get over it quickly. I really can't believe that she waited sixteen years to see me again. I hope she won't be disappointed in the outcome. And I'm not unappreciative of the fact that Jack and Sam have spent those sixteen years and a fortune in getting me back, and that their kids risked their lives on the trip. Even if they have all profited from the technology they developed to do it."  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"OK, let's wrap that one." said Jonas. We'll show that after the O'Neill interview, followed by the one of Jen Hailey." He turned to the junior reporter. "How much did you get from Teal'c?"  
  
The reporter shuffled nervously. "Er, well boss, it's er, how can I say... Short but full of character!"  
  
"Roll it." said Jonas. The screen came to life again with a shot tracking out from a close-up of Teal'c's tattoo to take in his whole head and shoulders.  
  
"So, Mr. Teal'c," the reporter stumbled, "are you pleased with the outcome of events?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Has this been as big an event in the Goa'uld war as people say it is?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Do you think Dr. Jackson fully trusts you all again?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Will you be returning to Chulak after this?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
There followed an embarrassing silence in which it was obvious the reporter was losing an inner struggle.  
  
"Ask me about the honourable intentions of the O'Neill's." smiled Teal'c.  
  
"OK, er, do you think that the O'Neill's acted honourably throughout this whole venture?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Amidst the general laughter in the editing room, the last minute panic of settling the running order began to be thrashed out.  
  
"If we show the whole set of interviews, something's got to go from this evening's schedule." insisted the editor. "We gotta keep the piece about the Earth threats to ignore the Trader's new policy up front."  
  
"No, cut it. We'll know what happens soon enough." replied Jonas.  
  
"What about the massive Black Hole appearing in the centre of the Sombrero Hat Galaxy?" the editor came back.  
  
"They'll either survive or they won't." replied Jonas. "Cut it!"  
  
"Massive radiation leak on Titus Three?"  
  
"You can't film radiation. Not photogenic enough."  
  
"Playoffs in the Intergalactic Zero-Gravity Snooker Cup?"  
  
"Cut it down to the scores on the ticker."  
  
"Lost dog keeps dialling Stargates in hope of finding its master?"  
  
"That's human interest! Keep that one in." Jonas sighed and stood up. "OK, boys and girls. Let's show 'em all the way!"  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Daniel and Jen lay back against the pillows in the sumptuous bedroom in Sam and Jack's garden guest lodge. Her head rested on his shoulder, his arm around her. They stayed silent until she commanded "Screen off!" and the glow in the far corner died away. They had just watched the repeats of the Kelownan TV interviews made the day before. Last night they had been too busy with each other - in Jen's case making up for what she had called 'sixteen years of lost time' to watch the first-time broadcasts.  
  
"Well, what did you think?" asked Daniel.  
  
"I hope the dog finds its owner." she sighed. "Daniel, just get over it, and marry me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We can go to the priests here on Mythor and see if we're compatible enough for im'ri bonding, if you like. Sam and Jack have offered to host the reception, but it won't happen if you've still got a stick up your ass."  
  
"Are you serious, Jen?"  
  
"Sixteen years serious, Daniel. Get over it, marry me, or break my heart again. Choice is yours."  
  
He never stood a chance, did he?  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
In the 21st century, KUTV, as the Earth subsidiary of Jonas' company was known, had a massive following not only because it showed great news coverage of events throughout the whole Gated universe. Its constant ability to have the best-looking presenters who didn't seem to mind showing exposed pectorals or ample curves that no other station dared match and stay in business was also a considerable factor. Its TV broadcasts and 3D moving picture news-sheets set the pace which other news or entertainment companies tried to match. Nonetheless, historians in subsequent centuries were able to piece together from its archives a reasonably accurate record of the events that led to the Earth's remarkable transformation. The following items form the start of the history gallery at the Pan-Terran library:  
  
24 April 2031: Earth declares opposition to Trader's Guild restrictions on Gate trade.  
  
15 May 2031: Ex-Guild president and wife survive missile attack on freighter: miraculous escape in new Quantum Traverse pod. Earth government denies backing "terrorists".  
  
27 September 2031: Earth sends troops to secure Stargates on supply worlds. Traders Guild excluded from future dealings on Earth Economic Area planets.  
  
14 March 2032: Daniel and Jenny Jackson present rare Denebian burial vase to Smithsonian Museum.  
  
12 April 2032: Government admits Earth Stargate no longer functioning: thousands of troops stranded off-world.  
  
26 June 2032: Alarm at high number of arriving spaceships making crash- landings.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX 


End file.
